We quickly asked about the location of the Witch and got a few answers. Like we had come to know, the Witch was living on the opposite side of the village. Not from the direction that we came from. In order to find her, we should follow the purple flowers on the trees. That was something that was passed out to the people of the village for a while already.
We did try to get someone to take us there, since it would be easier to move with a guide. But unfortunately, there wasn't anyone. Not that there wasn't anyone who knew where the Witch lived, but there wasn't anyone who we could feel comfortable taking with us. The only people who seemed to know the exact location were either elderly, or very, very young. With a swarm of spiders moving around, we were not willing to risk those people.
Still, it took very little effort to find the Witch. Just like they mentioned, all you had to do was follow the purple flowers on the trees. Not the ones on the ground, but the ones growing on the trunks. They created a very straightforward path through the forest. And then, a bit under half an hour later, we arrived at what we were assuming to be the Witch's hut.
It was a simple wooden house with a moss covered roof in the middle of a small clearing. But we couldn't see any signals or indications that any spider had come by. Which might mean that the Witch was not related to the spiders in any way. But we were not about to drop our guard. There was a chance this was just a trap.
Michael, Astrid, and I were slowly walking towards the entrance with our weapons at the ready. We were not pointing them at the house or holding on to them as if we were about to strike, since we didn't even have any confirmation if the Witch was a threat or not. But our hands were not far enough away from our weapons to take too long for us to pick them up in case something were to happen and we needed to start fighting. We were a good 10 meters [32.8 ft] away from the door when a voice came from inside.
"Okay. That's far enough. What do you want?"
The voice was steady and much younger than I was expecting. For some reason when they mentioned a Witch, I was picturing an old hag or a crone in her later years. Someone speaking with that crack in her voice and something. Not the steady voice of what sounded like a young woman. Roughly about my age, maybe? I pushed those doubts to the side and spoke up.
"A bunch of spiders attacked the village. We were hoping you could help."
"Spiders? They are not supposed to be going after the village. They usually stay far to the south. Do you know someone did something to taunt them?" the voice asked.
"I don't know. We are not really from the village. We were just trying to help. But we have more pressing matters. The spiders used some sort of poison in their claws. A lot of people in the village were poisoned by those cuts. And even my companion is suffering with it. Could you maybe take a look to see if you know how to make an antidote or how to remove the poison?"
There was a long pause, which almost made me want to step forward and burst into the house. But if we were trying to get this person to help us, we couldn't be that rude. Eventually the door opened and a person wearing a long black robe and a wide brim black Witch's hat stepped forward.
"Which one of you was poisoned?" the person asked.
Astrid took a step forward and showed her the arm that was affected. It was no longer cut since her {Body Regeneration} fixed the wound, but there was a black spot slowly creeping on her. That wasn't something that should be happening. As a matter of fact, Astrid herself asked her System to let the poison act on a specific part of her arm. Our particles could fight off some degree of poison, but we weren't sure if this would be beyond what they could do or not.
The Frosted Lumberjack warned us about what she was doing and explained that in order to have the Witch helping them, they needed to be telling the truth. And if her System was blocking the poison, there wouldn't be anything for the Witch to see. So apparently the effect would be the same for the villagers. Although they were weaker and had more wounds, and maybe the progress of the poison on them was much faster.
The Witch took a few steps forward and looked at our weapons before frowning. "Are you going to attack me or are you going to let me check your friend?"
The Witch had dark skin, although not as dark as mine. A bit of a big nose but it fit well with her face. Dark eyes and long silky hair going over her shoulders. I wasn't entirely sure what was her heritage. But I could tell that she wasn't black. Maybe Indian? That wasn't something I had to worry about right now. There were pressing matters at hand.
I took a step back and gave some space for the Witch to approach Astrid. But I still had my hand close to my weapon. "We just heard that you were a Witch and that you could help. So we were not entirely sure about you. We are going to let you work, but if you're going to do anything that looks very sketchy, at least give the heads up first so we won't think you're trying to kill us."
The Witch paused, then stared at me before nodding. "Fair enough. Now let me see this."
She approached Astrid without a fear or worry, as if she was completely sure that we were not going to harm her. And quickly started examining the Frosted Lumberjack. After about 2 minutes, she sighed and shook her head.
"Okay, this is a bad poison but I don't know what kind of spider did this. Without that knowledge, I really won't be able to tell you which type of anti-venom I'm going to need to make."
"I think there are a couple bodies back in the village. Can't you come back with us to check?" Michael suggested.
"Maybe, but are you sure they were the same type that hurt your friend?"
I turned to Astrid, but the Frosted Lumberjack had a frown on her face. "No. The cuts. Ran away."
"Shit," I cursed. "So the one that hurt you was one of the ones that ran away?" Astrid nodded, and the Witch glanced at me, looking thankful for the translation.
"Again, I don't really know what I can do here. I can give you some medicine that should fight off the symptoms. But without knowing the type of spider, I can't do anything about it expect hope you can push through."
"What about the rest of the villagers? There were a bunch of them who were poisoned. And because of the spiders that attacked, all seem to be generally of the same type. Even if they were not really normal."
"What do you mean?" the Witch turned towards me with a confused expression.
I explained the type of spiders that we were seeing and the Witch seemed to be even more alarmed than before.
"That's not possible. Spiders don't look like that. And the ones I was talking about are brown, not black. What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know, but can't you come to the village with us? Maybe you'll be able to see the spiders that understand what type of poison they use?"
The Witch scratched the back of her head. "Fine. I suppose that's the best option we have now. Give me a moment."
She quickly stepped back into the house and, in just a minute, returned carrying a bag that was full of various types of herbs and other plants.
"Let's go." We nodded and started rushing back towards the village.
We didn't talk much as any attempt at conversation was quickly shut down by the Witch. But Michael still didn't give up.
"But seriously, are we going to keep calling you Witch all the time? What if there's another Witch in the village? How are we going to know which one we are talking to? It would be much easier if we can call you by your name," He pressed.
"I'm not telling my name to the people of the village. I'm not going to tell you the reason and I really would appreciate if you stop trying to learn my name. There's no other Witch here. I know that for a fact. So just stop it and let's go back to the village so I can help the people who are sick."
"Fine," the Improvised Archer mumbled and seemed to finally stop talking to the Witch's happiness. It seemed like Astrid's silent demeanor and my overall lack of need to be constantly speaking were two things that the Witch really appreciated. Which only made the situation more uncomfortable for Michael who struggled to spend more than a few minutes without saying anything.
Either way, we came back to the village in less than 1 hour after we had left with the Witch in tow. A few of the villagers were staring at her with angry expressions or fear in their eyes. So we just walked along looking for Peter and the other two men who seemed to be taking charge when we left.
Once we found them, Michael quickly called. "Hey where are the spiders?"
"What?" Stewart turned to face us.
"Where are the spiders?" Michael asked again.
"They're gone. They ran away, and they didn't have any other attack," Stewart replied.
"No, I don't know. I mean the ones that have killed. Where are the bodies?"
"The bodies? We tossed them in the river."
"You what?" I gasped.
"Yes, we tossed them in the river. Leaving them here was a bad call, since it could attract other predators. We dragged them to the river and tossed them there."
"Are we really that close to the river?" I frowned.
"Not the main one, but there's a creek that leads there. It's not deep, but it was enough for the spiders to float. The current carried them and should would get to the main river before causing any more problems."
"Why do you need them?" the Peter asked, and I pointed to the side where the Witch was waiting.
"The Witch needs them to see what kind of spider was here to know what kind of antidote to make. Without that, we don't really have a way to know for sure the type of anti venom the Witch has to make."
"And giving the wrong medicine is a problem?" Stewart asked with a frown.
"Very much so," the Witch replied. "If I give someone the wrong anti venom, there are all kinds of problems that can arise. From them having a bad reaction and getting sick for a while. To the venom, becoming even stronger and killing the person. So without knowing the type of spider that attacked you, I can't do anything," she paused for a moment and turned towards us, "The spiders, can you describe them to me?"
We did our best to do what she asked, but she never had seen anything like those spiders. And said the spiders looked like things that came out of a horror story. But still, that was all we were working with, at all the things we had to share.
Eventually, the Witch admitted. "Look, I really want to help. But without knowing the type of spider, there's nothing I can do. If I try anything, things can get much worse. Or I can just be wasting my resources. Resources that might be needed once we figure out the type of spider that was. So unless you have a way to show me the actual spider, I think you should go after them and see if we can get something from there."
"Show you," I paused and turned to someone else who could give us a hint. 'Hey, Sys, can I share images with other people? Like the map, or if I'm looking at a memory. Could I send that memory to someone else just so they can see what I'm thinking about?'
There was a pause before System spoke up. [That is possible. However, only a System user would be able to see the image in question. In addition, memories would not be as detailed without the presence of some specific skill related to sharing of information.]
'What about the spiders? They are fresh in my memory couldn't I share that with someone?'
[That is possible however user might not have the full details of the spiders to share. That being said, if user were to combine users' memory with Michael's and Astrid's, it is possible to create a more accurate version of spiders to share with someone else.]
'Okay, okay,' I nodded and grabbed both Astrid and Michael, sending a message through the System. I quickly explained what I was trying to do and asked them to send the image of a spider they had in mind. They sent it to me right away and, just like the System explained, there were a lot of gaps in each of the three pictures. I didn't really take a good look at how the legs looked. Michael didn't really pay too much attention to the fangs of the spiders. And Astrid only focused on the upper torso, with the lower spider being almost completely blank on her memory.
I ended up having to spend one Energy to combine all three pictures in one and the System extrapolated a few pieces of information with the knowledge I had about spiders to match the type that could be involved in that centaur like creation. Until we finally came back with one full picture of a spider.
I turned to the Witch and pulled her to the side. "Look, I have a way for you to see the spider for you, but it's going to sound crazy and you're going to have to sleep for a few hours. Are you okay with that?"
Like I said, the Witch looked at me like I was crazy and I nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I can't talk about that here." I dragged her into a house nearby, making sure it was empty before snapping my fingers and triggering {Firestarter} to show that I could create fire with my own hands.
The Witch stared at me with wide eyes but it only lasted a moment before she blinked again and said. "You have it… And you're offering to share this power with me?"
"Yes, in exchange, you help us deal with the spiders and, more importantly, you make an antidote for my friend. If you can't help the village, that will be much appreciated too."
She stared at me for a moment. "But you want me to focus on your friend?"
"I want you to help who you can, but yes, if I had to pick, I value my friend's life more than the people here. Like I said, we just got here. And I don't want to have to spend God knows how long chasing after spiders with my friend, being hurt by the poison. We don't know if it's going to be something that she can't handle herself or it will end up killing her."
The Witch stared at me for a long moment and said. "Riley."
"What?" I asked.
"My name. It's Riley. I'm not going to tell Michael because, honestly, I don't think he would be able to not tell the rest of the people in the village. But for now, you can know. And yes, I accept that offer. I would love to have those powers. Maybe I can finally be a real Witch with them."
"So you're saying you're not a real Witch?"
"I'm good with plants and I'm good with potions. Medicine. People just call me a Witch because I live in the middle of the woods."
That made me want to ask a lot of questions. Including what she meant by 'I have it'. But that was something for later. I reached out for her hand and told the System the command [Ingrain]. I felt the 10% of particles leaving my body and the System warning me that until I could recover those 10%, the quest to reach tier 2 would be stopped. It sucked, but I had a feeling it wouldn't take long for me to recoup what I lost. After all, we were not going to just leave the spiders alone.
When that initial process was over, I asked Riley if she understood everything that was going on and she replied. "No, I really don't get what's going on. But I need to sleep to continue the process, right?"
I didn't even have to answer as her System spoke up and confirmed. "Okay. I don't know how long that's going to be, but I hope you can look out for me while I'm sleeping."
She quickly grabbed a mushroom from her pouch and took a bite out of it. Without missing a beat, she took a few steps to the side of the house and found a chair. She slumped back on it and tilted her head down, covering her eyes with her hat. Before I could even say anything, she was already snoring.
I kept staring at the Witch with wide eyes, still unsure what just happened. "Man, if you really can put people to sleep that easily, I want some of those mushrooms. I have some really rough nights." I groaned and walked back out to explain what was going on to my friends.
It might have been a bit of a reckless idea to give the System to a Witch. But at the same time, it very much felt like the kind of thing that someone with that name should have. So now, we had to wait for her to sleep and complete the integration with the System. Then we could send her the picture of the spider and hopefully find a way for her to make an antidote for the poison. If that didn't work, maybe the Witch could use her skills in botany to figure out something else. Hopefully, the System would be enough to solve any issues we had with this particular aspect of the spiders, so we could truly go after them and save the rest of the village before it was too late.